Japanese risotto with mushrooms & scallions

For ➋

80 cl water

1 tbs miso* 

1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil 

100 g sushi or other short-grain rice 

10 cl sake 

salt & freshly ground black pepper 

150 g enoki or shimeji mushrooms 

50 g chopped scallions 

25-50 g kaiware daikon sprouts**

2 tbs olive oil

Combine 1 tbs miso with the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the stock. 

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice, stirring constantly in one direction, until well coated. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sake. Return to the heat and stir constantly in one direction until all of the liquid is absorbed. 

Add the stock in 10 cl increments, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed with each addition (about 12-15 m)***.   Season with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile stir-fry the mushrooms and scallions in 1 tbs of oil. (about 5 m). Add some mirin if you want. The last 2 m add the sprouts.

Spoon into serving bowls. Garnish with the mushrooms, scallions, and sprouts and serve.

*or vegetal stock

**or sliced daikon

***or pour the warm miso stock on the rice, bring to a boil, cover with a lid and let cook on moderate heat for 12-15 m.

Read tip on risotto making.

Chawan mushi (Japanese savoury custard)

For ➋
2 fresh eggs
20 cl cooled fish stock (add some sake (or sherry) & a dash of soy sauce)
1 shiitake, torn
6 large prawns, peeled*
2 tbs of parsley

Beat the eggs with a fork.

Add soup stock a little at a time while stirring the eggs.

Place the filling in individual earthenware cups. Pour in the mixture of egg and soup stock.

Cover with parsley.

Boil water in a steamer. Turn the heat down to medium. Place the cups in the steamer. Steam for 12 m.

*Or 200 g fresh white fish. Or a parboiled chicken breast, use with chicken stock.

The custard-like chawan mushi is a classic Japanese dish.
To add taste to the dish, fry or wok the ingredients, except the eggs.
You could pour water in a wok, with a divider for a larger cup. Heat the water with wok lid closed. When hot, put the cup with the ingredients in the wok and steam for about 15 m.
Try the similar Chinese steamed eggs or a modern fusion recipe.

Asari no sakamushi (steamed Venus clams)

For ➋
15 cl sake*
1 tbs ginger, julienned
600 g small clams (f.i. Venus clams), de-gritted**
1 dried red chili pepper
freshly ground black pepper
1 scallion, chopped

In a large frying pan, add the sake and ginger and bring it to a boil.
Add the clams and a red chili pepper. Place the lid and steam on high heat for a few minutes until all the clams open.
Remove the lid and add freshly ground black pepper and green onion. Shake the pan to make sure the clams are not over-lapping each other.
Serve with the soup and eat while warm.***

*Or for a non-alcoholic soup, use a dashi stock, with some mirin, lemon peel, garlic, (Chinese) chives. Replace sake with very dry sherry.
**Discard open clams. Clean the rest in clear cold water for at least 3 times.
*** For a main course, serve with stir-fried bean sprouts, enoki and nashi pear with a sesame sauce with dashi, sake and shichimi togarashi. A bowl of pimped rice.

Quick Japanese marinated salmon

For ➋
2 salmon fillets 150 g each
1 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs mirin
1 tbs sake
½ tbs oil

Combine all ingredients except the oil in a ziplock bag, remove as much air as possible and marinate overnight (or minimum 3 h).
Heat ½ tbs oil in a non stick pan over medium heat*.
Add salmon skin side down, cook for 2 to 3 m until crispy. Check the skin to ensure it isn't cooking too quickly - if it is, then turn down the heat and/or remove the pan from the stove briefly to allow the temperature to decrease.
Drizzle over remaining marinade in the ziplock bag over the flesh side. Flip and cook the flesh side for 2 m, or to your liking. I like salmon medium rare so the inside is very moist and just cooked.
Rest for a couple of minutes, remembering that the salmon will continue to cook while resting, then serve.

*Be careful to ensure you cook it over medium heat and no higher - because of the sugar in the mirin, if you cook it on too high a heat the sugar will burn before the inside has been cooked.
**Other method: to broil/grill, preheat the broiler/grill on high. Use the oil to grease a tray, then place the salmon on it and place under the broiler/grill (about 5 inches / 15 cm from the heat source) until cooked to your liking. The general rule of thumb is 10 m per 2.5 cm thickness of the fillet (measure the thickest part of the fish).

Japanese style poached salmon

For ➍
600 g skinless salmon filets
150 g portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
3 tbs finely chopped yellow onions
20 cl mirin, sake or dry white wine (or add some water)
15 cl heavy cream*
2 tbs butter*
1 tsp fresh (or ¼ tsp dried) tarragon, finely chopped
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Rinse salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut filet into 4 equal portions.
In large skillet, arrange mushrooms and onions covering bottom of pan. Place salmon pieces on top.
Pour sake and water over salmon and bring to a boil over medium-high. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer 3-5 m or only until salmon is slightly undercooked. Remove salmon from pan, transfer to a plate, cover with tin foil, and set aside.
Increase heat to medium-high and continue to boil mushrooms and onions until the liquid has reduced to 40 cl.
Add any extra juices from salmon plate, stir in heavy cream*, butter*, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook 10-15 m until liquid has reduced to 10 cl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.
Transfer salmon to individual serving plates, spoon mushroom reduction sauce on top of salmon. Serve immediately.

*Omit cream and butter.

Japanese grilled soy ginger swordfish

For ➍
600-800 g swordfish steaks
4 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sake
2 tbs mirin
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2.5 cm piece fresh ginger root, peeled & chopped fine
2-3 scallions, minced

Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow dish. Place swordfish and cover with marinade. Let marinate for at least 1 h.
Remove fish from marinade. Pour marinade into small saucepan over high heat, and cook until thickened.
Grill swordfish on both sides over medium heat over prepared charcoals, brushing marinade over fish as it cooks.
Place swordfish on serving plates. Spoon any leftover marinade over the fish and top with minced scallions.*

*Serve with steamed rice, or with quinoa, couscous or steamed vegetables. Since the sauce is so tasty, serve with something that absorbs the sauce. Grilling always yields the best taste, but baking in an oven works fine too.

Quick tomato nikujaga

For ➍
2 ts vegetable oil
2 tbs sugar
300 g beef, sliced thinly
360 g potatoes (8 small potatoes, peeled & cut in half)
230 g tomatoes (2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges)
220 g onion (1 small onion, sliced)
200 g shirataki noodles, drained, rinsed , chopped
170 g carrots (1 large carrot, cut into large pieces)
20 cl sake
5 cl soy sauce
80 g snap peas, sliced in half

Heat a pan large enough for all of the ingredients over medium high-heat until hot. Add the oil and sugar and swirl to coat. Add the beef and stir-fry until the beef is mostly cooked. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, shirataki noodles, carrots, sake, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Partially cover with a lid and turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the vegetables and meat are tender, about 50 m.
Add the snap peas and cover and steam until they are bright green.

The traditional way to make nikujaga is to simmer beef, potatoes, onions and carrots in dashi, a type of Japanese soup stock. It gives the dish the signature Japanese flavor with an intense umami and a mild smoky flavor from the dried bonito. Replace with tomato & sake. Or make an easy version.

Tori momoniku to shiitake no cushion (steamed chicken with shiitake)

For ➋
250 g chicken thigh meat (without bone)
4 shiitake
½ leek
½ tbs grated ginger juice
1 tbs soy-sauce
1 tbs sake (or very dry sherry)
½ tbs sesame oil
1 tbs starch
salt & pepper

Trim fat and skin from chicken, and chop into small pieces.

Slice the shiitake.

Mix all ingredients and seasonings. Add the ginger juice. Add sesame oil, sake and soy-sauce. Add just a bit of salt and pepper. Mix well. Add starch and mix.

Put on a plate to steam. Heat a steamer. Steam for 30 m. Stir once after 15 m.

Read the chicken cooking tip.

Miso & soy sea bass

For ➍
5 tbs sake
5 tbs mirin
3 tbs soy sauce
30 g brown sugar
70 g cup miso paste
4 (100-150 g) fillets fresh sea bass, about 2.5 cm thick
2 tbs chopped green onions

Whisk together the sake, mirin, soy sauce, brown sugar, and miso paste in a bowl to make the marinade.
Place the sea bass in a large sealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over the sea bass. Chill in refrigerator 3 to 6 h. Arrange the fillets on a baking sheet. Discard the marinade.
Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 15 cm from the heat source. Prop the oven door to remain slightly ajar.
Bake the sea bass under the broiler until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 7 to 9 m. Sprinkle with chopped green onions to serve.
Serve with white rice and pak choi (Chinese cabbage).

Easy nikujaga (Japanese beef & potato stew)

For ➍
1 tbs oil
500 g beef, thinly sliced or cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, sliced
4 large potatoes, (or 400 g pumpkin), cut into bite sized pieces
1 carrot, cut into bite sized pieces
5 dl dashi (or water or beef stock)*
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs sugar
2 tbs sake
1 tbs mirin
1 green onion, sliced
shichimi togarashi** to taste (optional) (or some shredded ginger)

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the beef and brown on all sides.
Add the onion, squash and carrot and sauté for 5 m.
Add the dashi, soy, sugar, sake and mirin, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender (30-40 m).
Serve immediately.

*Nikujaga is often simmered until most of the liquid has evaporated, but some prefer to have some liquid left.
**Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese condiment that is made from a blend of chillies and other things like sesame seeds, nori, etc.

Try a richer version or a fusion tomato version.

Rich nikujaga (Japanese beef & potato stew)

For ➍
2 ts vegetable oil
200 g beef sliced thin (shortribs work great)
1 onion, in thick slices
4 yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 carrot, cut into large pieces
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed & quartered
1 dl sake
4 dl dashi (or low sodium beef stock)
2 tbs sugar
½ ts salt
3 tbs soy sauce
100 g shirataki noodles, drained & rinsed
75 g green beans, trimmed

Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil.Stir-fry the beef until cooked through. Transfer to a bowl, with tongs or a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the oil in the pot as possible.
Add the onions and fry until translucent. Add the potatoes, carrots and shiitake mushrooms and continue stir-frying for about 3 m.
Add the sake and bring to a boil until you stop smelling alcohol (1-2 m). Add the dashi, sugar, salt, soy sauce and shirataki, and then return the beef to the pot. Simmer, partially covered for 30-40 m, or until the meat is tender and the carrots and potatoes are very soft.
Add the green beans and cook uncovered until they are cooked through.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to develop.

Nikujaga was invented by cooks of the Japanese navy, at the end of the 19th century,inspired by the beef stews of the British navy. It is a Japanese version of a beef stew that is simmered in the classic Japanese seasonings of soy, sugar, sake and mirin. Nikujaga can be made with different ingredients, and different kind of meats.
Try a simple version or a fusion tomato version.

Tori no karaage (Japanese fried chicken)

For ➋
500 g chicken thighs boneless, skin-on, cut into bites
1 tbs ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 tbs soy sauce or tamari
1 tbs sake
2 ts granulated sugar
5 tbs potato starch
vegetable oil for frying
lemon

Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine.

Add the chicken, then stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 h.

Add 2 cm of vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat until the oil reaches 180°C. Line a wire rack with 2 sheets of paper towels and get your tongs out. Put the potato starch in a bowl.

Add a handful of chicken to the potato starch and toss to coat each piece evenly.

Fry the chicken in batches until the exterior is a medium brown and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the fried chicken to the paper towel lined rack. If you want the chicken to stay crispy longer, you can fry the chicken a second time, until it's a darker color after it's cooled off once.

Serve with lemon wedges. Or with rice balls as a light lunch.

'Karaage' was derived from the Chinese technique of deep frying small pieces of marinated and coated meat or fish. Similar recipes were developed over Eastern Asia, from Malaysia to Thailand. They are popular as starters, light lunches or crunchy appetizer at Japanese izakaya bars. It is also suitable for bento lunch boxes.
Try another izakaya favourite, asparagus bacon rolls.

Dashi-shoyu

For 50 cl
2 postcard-size pieces konbu (dried seaweed)
25 cl mirin
10 cl sake
20 cl soy sauce
5 g bonito flakes

Place the konbu in a nonstick frying pan and warm over a low heat for about 1 m to restore the flavour of the konbu.

Put the mirin and saké in a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat to burn off the alcohol. Add the soy sauce and bring back to the boil.

Remove from the heat, add the bonito flakes and leave to cool to room temperature.

Line a sieve with kitchen paper or a coffee filter and strain the sauce straight into a glass storage jar.

Discard the bonito. Add the pieces of konbu to the jar and put on the lid.

Leave the sauce to infuse overnight before using.

Keep refrigerated. Use within 10 days.

*Use to marinate as well as a sauce.

Read a basic dashi recipe.

Salmon with miso

For ➍
2 salmon steaks, cut in halves, bones removed
4 small green bell peppers, julienned
½ medium carrot, peeled, julienned
100 g enoki mushrooms, stems trimmed*
3 tbs white miso paste**
2 tbs sake***
1½ tbs sugar
2 tbs butter

Mix miso, sake, and sugar in a small cup. Put ½ tbs of butter and a portion of green bell pepper, carrot, and enoki on a large sheet of aluminium foil. Place a piece of salmon on the top. Spread a portion of miso mixture on the salmon.
Fold the foil and seal the edges. Make 4 foil packets.
Place two foil packets in a large skillet. Put water into the skillet up to about 1 cm high. Cover the skillet with a lid and steam on medium heat for about 15 m. Cook other 2 foil packets in the same way.
Serve with dry rice.

*Or use shiitake mushrooms.
**Soy bean paste. Avoid salty brown miso.
***Or use dry sherry.

Read more fish in a parcel recipes: Japanese seafood & vegetables, Moroccan spiced fish, fish & fennel, Burmese steamed fish, chicken or fish with lime & peppers, chicken or fish with basil & tomatoes, Italian fish parcel, saumon en papilotte.

Sakana no gingami yaki (Japanese seafood & vegetables)

For ➍
4 fillets firm white fish
½ ts salt
1 tbs sake*
8 large raw prawns
4 large dried shiitake mushrooms
12 ginkgo nuts, shelled & skinned**

Wash fish well, dry it, sprinkle lightly with salt and sake and let it marinate for 10 m.
Remove prawn heads and cut along the back of the shell with a sharp knife so that the vein can be removed without shelling the prawns.
Soak dried mushrooms in very hot water for 30 m, then cut off and discard stems and slice the caps finely.
Take pieces of foil about 25 cm square and lightly oil one side.
Put a fish fillet, 2 prawns, 1 mushroom and 3 ginkgo nuts on each square of foil. Fold foil to form a parcel and bake in a moderate oven, 170°C, for 20 m or cook over coals on a barbecue or under a grill. Serve hot in the foil parcel.
Serve with (soba) noodles.

*Use dry manzanilla sherry instead.
**Use skinned maroons or pumpkin bite-size chunks instead. Roast a little before using.
Read risotto with roasted pumpkin recipe for roasted pumpkin how-to.

Duck's delight

For ➋
3 tbs peanut oil
2 duck chest fillets with skin, 150 g each
200 g green beans
300 g broccoli
1 Spanish pepper
½ clove of garlic
40 g cashew nuts
3 tbs light Japanese oyster sauce
3 tbs sesame oil
5 tbs dry white wine or sake*
salt & black pepper
3 ts thickener(**)
2 sprigs coriander

Heat peanut oil in wok. Braise chests with skin down for 4 m. Turn and bake for another 3 m.

Slice the chests thinly and put aside.

Clean and cut beans, broccoli and pepper.

Squeeze garlic over bowl.

Add oyster sauce, nuts, sesame oil, white wine* and sliced chests.

Add salt and black pepper.

Shred coriander.

Mix thickener with 1 tbs water.**

Heat 2 tbs of formerly used oil.

Add mixture and wok for 5 m.

Add thickener and cook for another m.**

Serve and garnish with coriander.

Serve with white rice, cucumber and green tea. Dry white wine optional.

*Optional.
**Optional. Cook for 1 additional m when not used.

Teppan yaki (Japanese grilled steak, prawns & vegetables)

For ➍
4 sirloin steaks (total 500 g)*
1 ts salt
1 ts freshly ground pepper
2 ts oil
4 large prawns
1 tbs sake**
2 green peppers
6 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
3 tbs soy sauce
1½ ts sugar
1 tbs chicken stock
frying oil

Trim excess fat from steaks. Sprinkle both sides with the salt and ½ of the pepper.
Peel the prawns, leave the tail, devein. Wash under cold water. Pat dry.
(Slice on underside to make butterflies.)*** Sprinkle with the sake**.
Quarter the green peppers, remove stem and seeds. Chop 3 of the onions (green included). Chop the garlic.
Mince 3 onions. Mix together 2 tbs of soy sauce, sugar, chicken stock and minced onions. Divide into 4 dipping bowls.
Heat oil in a pan. Keep heat high. Add the steaks and fry quickly until done.* Remove the steaks. Toss in the garlic, 3 chopped onions, and the prawns. Add 1 tbs of soy sauce, and ½ ts of pepper. Cook until prawns are done (probably 4 m, for medium sized prawns, 7-8 m for large ones)***.
Serve steaks, prawns and vegetables on warmed plates with dipping bowls. Add some rice.

*Cut into bite-sized pieces if you want. Reduce frying time. Normally, when full sized, 2,5 cm thick steaks would take 12-14 m to be medium fryed. Reduce to about 5 to 6 m. (Rare would be 8 to 10m, and 3 to 4 m.)
**Or dry sherry.
***Optional. Cooking time should be reduced by ⅓ when butterflied.

'Teppan' is an iron plate in Japanese, and 'yaki' means grilled. Though now considered as a typical Japanese dish, it was only developed after WWII to offer foreign visitors (and occupying American soldiers) something like a western meal with some Japanese influences. In the early 60's, it moved to the USA, and more often than not became a spectacle of high flames and burnt meat. The recipes vary from marinated beef to anything grilled.
This variation has a nice contrast in taste and texture between the elements, and nothing more than a good thick pan is needed. You can marinate the beef in the soy sauce before grilling, but it will spoil the beef a bit.